This month's feature : Mobile Electronics

Nothing Exceeds Like Excess

While the mainstream media greets the introduction of each years "largest TV screen" (last year, 103", this year, 108"), you don't hear much about mobile electronics in the news.

Well, we're happy to do the work for you. We make the rounds every year to bring you the advances in Mobile Electronics.

This year, aside from new records for 'most video screens in a vehicle,' the big news was the continued drop in Navigation System pricing. People in the industry refer to pricing as a "race to zero." The new breakthrough price for '07 was $199 for a basic GPS-based navigation system comparable to a system that would have listed at $1,499 just 5 years ago. Of course, it's not all about cutting prices -- there's a trend to add features and expand the role of the GPS/Nav system to something more like a mobile PDA/PC.

Satellite radio is continuing its penetration into mid-and low priced head units, with Bluetooth capabilities following. And every new head unit has MP3 player inputs. The 'connectivity' trend is so well established that the entire category has been named Mobile Infotainment. This year, it was announced that mobile WiFi spots are being introduced in some parts of the country. And on the OEM side, Microsoft's Sync advances the connectivity concept toward the ultimate goal of never being more than a couple of minutes from the Internet and all your playback options - even when you're on the road.